Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iraq, certain sources of gas for Nabucco

Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iraq will be for sure among the gas suppliers of the Nabucco project, according to the RWE consultant for the project, Josckha Fischer. Iran does not have any export possibilities so far. He said yesterday in Bucharest, during Forum Invest, that Nabucco is a project that is beginning to take shape, unlike South Stream: "Agreements for Nabucco were signed this summer in Ankara by all participating countries. The negotiations are ongoing with funding providers such as the EBRD and the EIB. South Stream is just talk for now. of course 2010 will be a decisive year for Nabucco because the investment decision has to be made. The political factor is the most important issue. Other than that, financing and management do not pose any significant problems".

Mr. Fischer believes that once the decisions on funding the Nabucco project and beginning work on it are made, Russia"s attitude will change as well. The RWE official explained: "I do not believe in domination as part of the current economic relations. We are long past that. Russia is dependent on Europe and vice-versa. This is not a relationship of domination but of collaboration. A first step in this direction was taken when the European Union was asked by Russia to mediate and monitor its relationship with Ukraine, the country through which natural gas crosses towards Europe. And the Union got involved in the Russia - Ukraine dispute. It is a very important step forward".

The creation of a European common market for natural gas would be a strong signal for Russia, Mr. Fischer said, who predicts that a stronger coordination of energy policies is needed. "Governments need to understand that they need to coordinate their actions. Russia would understand right away that it is not about energy and that Europeans are moving towards a shared position. We will need to think about common energy projects in order to increase energy security on a European level", said Josckha Fischer.

What"s more, the participation of Gazprom in the international auction for reserving a quota of Nabucco"s capacity would represent a success, according to Mr. Fischer, who said that any company can participate in these auctions.